Cutting Steel Sheet Metal

Steel comes in many different forms and thicknesses.

Cutting steel sheet metal.

Thick using a ferrous metal cutting blade. I m using irwin to. For thin sheets of metal you can use tin snips to cut through it. For cutting out holes in sheet metal it s going to be necessary that you begin with a starter hole this can be formed by using the hammer and chisel method to punch through the metal.

Start by taping both sides of the sheet metal directly over the line you want to cut and clamp the metal to a work station so it doesn t move. Then grip the saw with both hands and push the blade through the metal to cut it. Jigsaws and metal cutting band saws are more work but can make most cuts in light to medium sheet metal. Its head rotates 360 degrees to make any job easy.

To cut straight lines use an electric saw. It can cut straight curved or complex designs and leaves edges with minimal burrs. Thicker steel like pipes tubes and plates may require the use of power saws and torches. It may not be an obvious choice but fitted with the right blade a circular saw is a great metal cutting tool.

It will glide through 14 gauge material without much hesitation. You can cut mild steel up to about 3 8 in. Once you have the starter hole work your way out to the desired radius using the correct red or green colored snip. A handheld cutting tool fitted with a metal cut off wheel will easily cut through sheet.

Thin gauge steel like sheet metal can be cut with a large variety of tools. The attachments will cut sheet metal corrugate pipes powder coated material stainless steel copper aluminum formica plastic and fiberglass. In our test it cut through rebar like a hot knife through butter.